The Fireman's Ready-Made Family

Marly’s mind started working overtime. Now, this was an aspect from her old life she was actually glad to have instilled in her. Planning, organizing a way to raise funds.

“Like a festival?” Marly asked. “That’s great, Drake.”

“A festival?” Willow smacked her hands on the table and jumped from her chair. “Can we have a Ferris wheel like the one we rode on a few weeks ago, Mama?”

Marly laughed. “Oh, honey. It would be quite expensive to bring in a Ferris wheel. The whole point of this would be to make money, so probably nothing like that.”

As the pizza was devoured, Drake and Marly volleyed back and forth various ideas. Some were good, some not so good.

“I’ll get you a pen and paper, Mama.”

When Willow ran out of the room, Marly shook her head and started gathering the paper plates. “That child has more energy than I can keep up with at times.”

Drake came to his feet and folded the chip bags. “Where do these go?”

“Oh, just leave them. I’ll get everything.” Marly tried to busy herself so she didn’t have to look in his eyes, didn’t have to talk about anything personal. “What do I owe you for the pizza?”

Drake rested his hands on his narrow hips and shook his head. “Absolutely nothing.”

“I need to pay at least half,” Marly told him, reaching for her purse on the counter.

He laid his hand over hers. She hadn’t even seen him move toward her, but when she looked up and her eyes met his, she tensed. His hands were so big, totally blanketing her own. An image flashed in her mind of other large hands on her, hurting her. She forced herself not to completely seize up beneath his delicate touch.

Between that intense stare and the heat from his hand, Marly swallowed hard, trying to reinforce that pep talk she’d had with herself earlier.

Feeling anything toward Drake was a bad, bad idea.

“You owe nothing,” he told her, keeping his eyes locked onto hers. “Maybe you can buy next time.”

Holding her breath and praying her voice came out strong, Marly asked, “Will there be a next time?”

Before he could respond, Willow burst back into the room. “I got paper and a pen,” she yelled. “Now, spell everything slow for me and I’ll make notes.”

Drake’s hand slid away from Marly’s as she continued to stare at him. Willow was oblivious to the tension that had settled between them, but it left Marly...confused, intrigued...fascinated.

What was Drake thinking? Flirting was one thing, but the way he looked at her, as if he was attracted and ready to act on it... How could she cope with a man who wanted anything from her? She truly had nothing left in her to give. But, she vowed, she would never be this low again. She would never allow another man to break her.

Marly turned toward her daughter and concentrated on helping Willow write down some simple notes for the festival. If they were going full speed ahead with this plan, Marly feared there would most definitely be a next time she and Drake got together.

And Willow couldn’t always pose as the chaperone.

* * *

What the hell had he been thinking?

Drake picked up another nail, positioned it against the two-by-four and hammered it home with more force than necessary.

“Whoa. Who are you pissed at?”

Drake glanced over his shoulder to see Eli standing in the doorway to the addition Drake was adding onto the back of his house.

“Nobody,” he mumbled.

That wasn’t true. He was beyond mad with himself for allowing his hormones to control his actions. He knew Marly was skittish, yet he’d still flirted, hoping to see a reaction. Her deer-in-the-headlights look when he’d placed his hand over hers was all he’d needed to know that she remained very cautious and scared.

“You’re mad,” Eli retorted, stepping into the room. He ran his hand along the already placed beams and glanced over the work. “Is it the mayor again?”

Drake grunted, driving in another nail. “It’s never not the mayor.”

“Something more than usual?” Eli asked.

Carefully dropping his hammer to the subfloor, Drake shook his head. “Nothing I can’t handle. What are you doing here? Don’t you have a clinic to run, wife to love on or baby to feed?”

Eli’s smile widened. As the oldest brother, Dr. Eli St. John had been busy lately with taking over their father’s clinic, marrying his high school sweetheart and becoming a father.

Nora and Eli had drifted apart when Eli had gone into the military. Nora had married Eli’s best friend, but when Nora’s husband was killed in action, she had discovered she was pregnant. Now that she and Eli had found their way back to each other, Drake had never seen his brother so happy.

“Actually Nora took the baby and went to visit Mom and Dad. I saw your truck when we passed by and since I hadn’t seen you in a week, I told her I’d check up on you and be right back.” Eli crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a stud. “Care to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Everything, actually.” Walking over to the sawhorses with plywood on top for a makeshift worktable, Drake twisted off the cap of his water and downed half the bottle. “Jeremy is still recovering from that damn fire, the mayor is the bane of my existence and now Marly is consuming my thoughts.”

“Marly?” Eli’s brows raised. “Who’s Marly?”

The St. John boys were known for being jokesters and hellions, but Drake was thankful for once that his brother didn’t razz him about saying another woman’s name.

“She’s the nurse caring for Jeremy.”

Eli continued to stare, as if weighing his words before they came out. “This is the first time you’ve mentioned any woman since Andrea.”

Raking a hand over his head, Drake sighed and downed the last half of his water before tossing the bottle into the trash in the corner.

“I’ve been on a few dates,” Drake commented. “Nothing has progressed beyond date one with anybody, so I never mentioned them.”

“Is this nurse a serious thing?” Eli asked.

With a laugh, Drake shook his head. “She’s skittish, she’s a single mom to an adorable little girl and she’s running from something. But as far as she and I go, we’re nothing. She consumes my thoughts and I don’t know if that’s the protector in me wanting to know more and help her or if I’m actually attracted on a level I didn’t think existed anymore.”

“Wow, man.” Eli sighed and walked around the spacious room that was now ready for the drywall. “I don’t even know what to say. I mean, this is great that you may be finally moving on. You haven’t even gone on a date with the woman and you’re already torn up. It may not be serious to her, but it’s turning into something for you.”